kawal

Do you get tired of having to disconnect your smartphone or other devices from your auxiliary power outlet in your console? If you don't disconnect them, they will eventually drain your battery.



As Vettes come from the factory, both the cigarette lighter and the auxiliary power outlet are always hot. But a simple modification in your passenger footwell fuse panel will make your power outlet hot only in Run and Accessory Modes. This means you can leave your smartphone, Bluetooth, or other music devices plugged in all the time and not have to worry about your battery draining.

If you have the new Kinivo Handsfree phone and Audio Streaming Bluetooth device, you can leave it always connected in your console. When you shut down your Vette, it too will shut down.

A simple fuse jumper can be installed without any tools except a small screwdriver:



Here's a link to the details of how to do it:

http://www.kawal.net/poweroutlet.htm



See, no power when the car is shut down.

Ray

Norm66

Thanks Ray. I will set this up for the Kinivo you told us about.

Norm

kawal

Norm,

It's pretty easy to find the Add a Fuses, but the terminal on the new circuit wire isn't so easy to find because it's a special terminal that has to have the same blade width and thickness as an ATM fuse.



I'm just placing orders now for the jumper components so I can build these to the proper specifications. In a week or so, I'll have them on my Ordering Page website so C6 owners can order a complete fuse jumper that will fit exactly in the fuse block. All that will have to be done is pull the two existing fuses and stick in the jumper, about a ten minute job.

Ray

4SUMERZ

This is great Ray. Let us know when you get them up on your site

blacktop373737

Ray I'm in. I have your harnes 2 and the kinivo. It is the perfect solution to the blutooth stream issue 08. You do great work

whit1

Nice can't wait to order one, please pm me when it's available

B-Vette

Very ingenious, looks like it belongs in the fuse panel from factory.

kawal

It's a simple little mod - I should have thought of this before:



I was working on a way to incorporate a shutdown of plug-in devices based on the shutdown of the XM receiver, the idea being that I could include the circuitry into my auxiliary input harnesses. John Beidl, my electrical guru friend, helped me with a neat circuit to do that. But it turned out to be too costly, so we had to give up on that approach.

I wanted to make the auxiliary power connector hot only when the car is running, similar to other modern cars that have ports for small current devices like smartphones, Bluetooth, and music players. But running a new wire to the power outlet required removing the console, a PITA job that most Corvette owners don't care to tackle. So I had to think of a way to intercept the wiring to the power connector in a convenient location.

It doesn't get much easier than at the fuse box, a location anyone can access. But there aren't a heck of a lot of devices in the car that don't have constant battery power to them. It turned out the windshield wiper circuit at the same passenger footwell fuse box is controlled by a relay turned on and off by the body control module. So the solution turned out to be simple and easy to accomplish.

I hope to have these fuse jumpers available on my Ordering Page website by the end of this week. Or you can build them yourself if you can find the parts. Chevy should have done this when they designed the car. Having a power port inside the center console remaining hot all the time isn't one of their better ideas. I sometimes wonder what the engineers were thinking.

http://www.kawal.net/vettemods.htm

Ray

SC-C6

im in as well!

kawal

I've been building fuse jumpers today, so I have them available on my Ordering Page website for those Vette owners who don't want to fabricate them.

Here's the website:

http://www.kawal.net/corvettemods.htm

Here's exactly what they look like:



They come with two 10 amp fuses and the correct terminal to fit exactly in the existing Power Outlet fuse socket. All you do is remove two existing fuses from the fuse panel and keep them as spares. Insert the new fuse jumper and your Power Outlet in the center console will be hot only in Run and Accessory Mode.

I can ship the same or next day after I receive your order - although my wife and I leave for Oregon for a few days next Monday.

Email me at ray@kawal.net if you have any questions.

Ray

su8pack1

Thanks, just ordered one.

whit1

Just ordered mine also

technolady

This is a GREAT tip IMHO - I already ordered this because I saw your tip on your website like a week ago and am going to install them this weekend (along with a Pioneer NEX-4000 hehehe) .

Kawal, you Sir are the Man !

kawal

Included with the Fuse Jumper is a one page installation instruction sheet.

You can also download the instructions in .pdf format here:

http://www.kawal.net/Fuse Jumper.pdf

Your orders will go out tomorrow.

Ray

Norm66

Ray, Thanks again for all you do to make our Corvettes more user friendly. I have ordered the fuse jumper.
Norm

bonnell

I read about this yesterday on your web site. I have been waiting to get a PAL (new or used) and I have been considering the PAL alternative that you reviewed. I like being able to control an iPhone via my nav unit. I bought a PAL 2 from you and installed it in my last C6.

Now however I have a Windows phone so I would not only need to by the PAL/replacement but I would also need an iPod and this would not give me Bluetooth for the phone.

With that said, this fuse product along with the simple Bluetooth product looks good.

Ray what is the quality like when using this for a phone conversation?

EvanZR1

Quick question, could you wire this so that the outlet under the climate controls is the one that's switched?

*Trip*

THIS^.....I like having an "always hot" in my console for charging my phone if needed while Im not in the car......

so the question is; does this mod change both of these power/cig lighter locations or just the console....

thanks for coming up with "solutions"

kawal

Are you asking about the cigarette lighter connector next to the ash tray?

If so, yes.

Look at the photo below:



The yellow arrow points to the 20 amp fuse for the Auxiliary Power Outlet in the center console. The 20 amp fuse for the cigarette lighter (LTR) is immediately below it. Instead of removing the power outlet fuse, remove the LTR fuse instead. Then insert the Fuse Jumper wire in the top LTR fuse socket, exactly like the that shown for the Power Outlet.

Remember though that you will be limited to 10 amps of current. I'm not sure what a cigarette lighter actually requires, since I haven't measured it. But if you're not going to use the socket for a cigarette lighter, this Fuse Jumper will certainly work for the LTR fuse as well.

Ray

*Trip*

just what I needed to know .....thanks